Monthly Archives: December 2010

Have you been waiting for a usable RSS reading application to come to the BlackBerry unlocked handset? Many have, and RIM announced today that they have started the process of beta testing a new app that is called BlackBerry News Feeds, which will work in a way similar to that off other RSS feed readers. The company announced that they focused a creating a clean feed reader that would be easy for all of their users to use. As of right now, the biggest complaint regarding the new application is that there is no support with Google Reader, which is not something that they were expected to include anyway.

Adding new feeds to your feed reader is very simple, and also allows you to look through unread items, mark currently unread items as read, and share them with other friends that are also using the BlackBerry News Feed app.

The app went live today on the BlackBerry App World homepage and will also be available through their Beta Zone. Most of the major bugs seem to be already worked through, and the app runs fairly seamlessly already. RIM did not announce any plans to expand upon the features offered and instead seems to be focusing on offering a clear and concise reader that will be easy for their large number of users to operate.

This is an application that has been requested by many of their users for quite some time. The app will also include features that allow you to watch your various social feeds as well as website feeds and instant messenger feeds. Hopefully at some point in the near future they include some sort of integration with Google Reader, which has become the most popular RSS feed reader in recent years. The inclusion of that integration would make use of the BlackBerry News Feeds app much more viable for many of their users.

As if the unlocked Samsung Galaxy Tab had not already received enough attention for being the first legit iPad competitor, the company announced today that it would be launching a “Luxury Edition” of the device after a good first month of sales. Rogers Vice President Josh Boynton recently was quoted as saying that the tabs were “selling out as fast as they could get them in their stores,” and it has been tough for consumers to find the device for the holiday season. The Luxury Edition of the Samsung Galaxy will not be released in time for the holiday season, but it will give those that are looking for the tablet computer another version to consider.

There will be no changes made to the Luxury Edition in terms of specs, which really will not make it all that hot of a commodity given the price hike. It will have the same standard Android 2.2 software running on it, same size display and 1 GHz processor, but will come with a nice leather case as well as a Bluetooth headset specially designed for use with the Galaxy Tab.

The one big change will be in price. It will reportedly cost as much as $1,000, which seems to be well out of the budget of most consumers who are looking for a Galaxy tab unlocked from Samsung. It is interesting that the price hike would be as steep as it is when the only additions to the device will be a case and Bluetooth headset. It will be interesting to see how consumers respond. Most of them should realize that they can purchase their own case and headset for a much lower price than is being offered here by Samsung. Either way, it means that Samsung will be ramping up their production of the device, which should make it more accessible for those that have had a hard time finding it so far.

Twitter released their “Top Twitter Trends of 2010” list today, and you might be surprised by some of the results. As you might already be able to guess, Apple was a huge winner according to the list, and their products held three of the top four spots on the list.

In first place for the biggest Twitter trend of 2010 came the Apple iPad, a tablet device that has taken the tech industry by storm and has successfully secured a large part of the tablet computer market, with several competitors just now getting around to releasing their own tablet devices. In second place came Google Android, an operating system that has become increasingly popular across dozens of devices this year. As the largest competitor for the Apple iOS, it is interesting to see that “Apple iOS,” and “unlocked iPhone 4” came in the third and fourth positions for the most popular technology trending topics on the social networking service.

Twitter has been able to grow their number of users by more than 100 million accounts in total this year (although it is not currently clear how many individual users that equates to, as often websites, companies and services will have their own Twitter accounts and therefore do not use the service in the same way as an everyday user would).

In the fifth position was Call of Duty Black Ops, followed by New Twitter, which refers to the layout change that Twitter rolled out earlier this year, then HTC unlocked phones, RockMelt, MacBook Air and Google Instant, which refers to the large change that Google made to their search engine allowing users to instantly see results appearing as they type their query into the search box. There is no word on how many Tweets or searches each individual term received. Although there is no way to tell how much of an effect being a top trending Twitter topic has on a product or company, having the world talk about you is never a bad thing in the eyes of the tech industry.

Although the Android app platform is easily the most popular app marketplace for unlocked Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Android devices, a number of third party app marketplaces have sprung up over the course of the last few months that often include apps that are specially designed for certain carriers, manufacturers and specific devices. It’s easy to see why these app stores have increased in popularity; they allow users to immediately see what apps are available for their device and to quickly and easily sift through them to find the ones that they would like. Google recently announced that they would be making some changes to their app marketplace to make it easier to navigate and find apps. Even with the changes to the official Google Android Marketplace, they still have not made things as easy on users as some of the third party app marketplaces.

Appsfire features a main screen that features several different lines of apps. The sections that it shows you can be customized, and some of the categories include featured apps, apps whose prices have been slashed, hot apps for the day, top free apps and top free games.

The main screen constantly changes to show you what is available, hot and new. One problem with the app is that it just shows you the icon for each of the app, which can make it hard to tell which app you are looking at as the marketplace does not display the names of any of the apps until you have selected it.

The “Discover” tab allows you to quickly search through the apps in a list format, which most users should find to be easier to use than the home screen. The list format provides the name and a short description of the app.

Appsfire looks promising, and certainly makes the large collection of Android apps easier to sift through, but has not made the process as simple as it could be. As of right now the home screen seems to be a little bit cluttered, but will allow you to search through more apps in a shorter period of time.

Won!

CONGRATULATIONS KN DHILLON.

Skype is getting ready for some cloud based features that should further expand their calling platform. You can imagine the type of features that they would be able to implement through the usage of cloud computing. The move would suggest that Skype is looking to expand further than their current user base and start to offer solutions for enterprises and corporations. Google Voice was recently made available to smart phone users through an app that is available for unlocked iphone 4 iOS, and some have suggested that perhaps Google will look to release an enterprise-level solution some time in the future as well, and Skype is apparently taking heed of these warnings.

Some have suggested that perhaps Skype is gearing up to team up with Facebook to expand their offerings and allow Facebook users to call one another from their profile pages, but that is only speculative at this point. Other experts have suggested that Skype could be looking to team up with Microsoft to utilize their cloud system that is in place.

Either way, the announcement of the integration of cloud features is something that shows that Skype is preparing to extend their service in some way. The move to cloud computing will give them a lot more to work with and will give them the opportunity to expand upon their currently offered features.

Skype has already been able to integrate their service with other platforms, but with other alternatives popping up in recent months, both in the form of personal computer applications and smart phone apps, Skype appears poised to build upon their current system and expand it into something that would make the barrier of entry much harder for startup businesses that could potentially threaten the success of Skype. Look for Skype to elaborate on their plans over the course of the next few months as they move most of their system tot he cloud.

The Unlocked BlackBerry Phone PlayBook is a device that has been highly anticipated by tech enthusiasts across the country since it was first announced. Today, at the TabLife conference it was announced that they will be offering the new tablet that is manufactured by Research In Motion, the BlackBerry Playbook. The announcement came from David Neale who is the Vice President of their Special Projects committee. During the conference they took some time to show off the features of the PlayBook and give those in attendance a good idea of what the tablet is capable of and how it will instantly become a direct competitor of the iPad.

A video of the demonstration is supposed to make its way online soon. The PlayBook is being marketed as a tablet device for professionals on the go who need the business flexibility that is not offered by the iPad and other competing devices. It will have a 7 inch LCD display, which is slightly smaller than some of the competing tablets that will be making their way to the market in the coming months.

The PlayBook processor will consist of a 1 GHz dual Core Multiprocessor along with 1 GB of ram installed. The device will reportedly cost less than $500, which would make it noticeably cheaper than some of the alternative devices that have been announced over the course of the last few months.

The PlayBook is a device that many experts think will be the first one to truly rival the iPad, iphone 4 unlocked and gather its own following. It is rumored to feature a number of additions that have been requested by iPad enthusiasts since the device was released including a USB port to allow for quicker transfers. Many experts have predicted that they believe that the phone will be able to live up to the hype based on the information that has been made available both by Research in Motion and by BlackBerry.

Just the other day Koodo announced that they would be releasing their $50 unlimited plan that covers usage anywhere within the nation. Because of fierce competition within the marketplace for the holiday season, companies have been slashing prices and changing plans to benefit their consumers. In order to keep up with the trend, Virgin announced today that they would be releasing their own $50 Unlimited “no zone” plan that is eerily similar to the plan that was announced by Koodo. You shouldn’t be surprised to see other companies follow suit in the coming days and offer a similar plan.

The new Solo Mobile plan that was announced will include the ability to make unlimited local and international texts as well as picture messages, and will also come with call waiting and conference calling. the competing offer by Virgin Mobile will also offering unlimited local calling, and unlimited local and international texting but the announcement made no mention of pictures messages. There will be no zone restrictions in the new plan, but you will still be charged quite a bit extra under their current roaming plane.

So far, their plan will not be compatible with unlocked iPhone 4, Blackberry’s or Android devices, which is something that they will likely have to add. The deal is obviously aimed at the lower end of the tech savvy crowd or the budget conscious consumer who only really needs unlimited texting to use their phone to its potential. With so many different mobile carriers slashing prices, it will be interesting to see if any other providers follow suit in the coming weeks and offer plans similar to those offered by Solo Mobile and Virgin Mobile.

US Cellular announced three new plans today that are available for individuals with prepaid unlocked phones. The announcement comes just in time for the 2010 holiday season and the plans will include unlimited text messaging along with three different sets of minute plans. You can purchase 200, 400 or 100 minutes for your US Cellular prepaid device. Each of the plans will cost $29, $39, or $49. Plans of 400 minutes and above will also come with a monthly 5 gigabyte data plan.

As prepaid calling has become more popular in recent years because they do not require a contractual agreement, smaller providers have added increased features and new plans for these devices. In the beginning, many providers only offered one standard prepaid plan, but US Cellular has expanded to three plans that give their customers added flexibility.

The 200 minute plan is for the occasional phone user who likely only user their phone when they are out and about. the 400 minute plan also includes unlimited texting and picture messaging with 5 gigabytes of browsing data, and is geared toward individuals that are looking for the smart phone experience without having to agree to a contract. The 100 minute plan also overs unlimited text and video messaging, and is the step before their $69.99 prepaid plan which is also compatible with various smart phones and allows unlimited incoming calls on nights and weekends.

Many carriers, both in the contractual and pre-paid space have made changes to their offered plans in recent weeks just in time for the holiday season. The competitive nature of the industry forces these companies to constantly compete with each other by adding features or lowering their prices. It will be interesting to see if other prepaid providers follow suit and change their prices and plans following the US Cellular announcement.

The white unlocked iPhone 4, up until this point has seemed like a myth within the tech industry. It has long been rumored to be on the way but Apple has never seemed willing to pull the trigger and offer the device in any color but black. However, recent evidence suggests that perhaps we can expect to see the white iPhone available to consumers as early as Spring of 2011. It is something that has been highly anticipated by many of their users and will probably be a popular choice for many of their users who have been using the black version of the device for a number of years.

The white iPhone was previously delayed due to production problems that dealt with the “home” button. Apple had only been manufacturing one kind of button, and the black button did not fit the theme of the white iPhone in the early stages of production so the entire idea was scrapped. Now, apparently they have fixed these issues and are planning on bringing the white iPhone to customers in Spring of 2011.

On the in-store document that mentions the forthcoming release of the iPhone 4, there is no mention of the rumored release of the iPhone on Verizon. Of course, you wouldn’t expect them to leak a release as big as that on an in-store document, but the fact that they mentioned the now-mythical white iPhone on that same document is a little surprising. It is good to see that they have been able to fix their production issues and will be able to bring a white iPhone, something that many of their customers have been anxiously awaiting the release of for a number of years. Maybe after its release we will be able to see some interesting data regarding how many people make the switch from black to white iPhone 4 unlocked.